Partnerships for Schools



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Partnerships for Schools
33 Greycoat Street
London SW1P 2QF

Targeted Capital Programmes

Targeted Capital Programmes

About TCP

Targeted capital funding provides support for a range of programmes aligned to specific policies.

These programmes include:

BSF One school pathfinder programme

The BSF One School Pathfinder programme (OSP) was announced in November 2004, where Ministers set out an ambition that by 2011 all local authorities will have rebuilt at least one of its secondary schools. The OSP was aimed at local authorities that were programmed to join the main BSF programme in Waves 10-15, and which were unlikely to receive funding for an Academy. Local authorities were offered funding to rebuild a school with the highest level of building need that fitted in with their long term strategic plan for education. Two phases of One School Pathfinders were announced involving 38 local authorities (13 in Phase 1 and 25 in Phase 2) and funding for this programme will continue beyond 2010/11.

Basic need safety valve

This programme provides additional funding for school places to cope with exceptional growth in pupil numbers, where these cannot be met from other programmes, including the New Pupil Places (Basic Need) programme (see below). Funding is provided to deliver additional school places in line with demand and is based on applications received for capital grant from local authorities or VA schools. Payments are made quarterly.

Standards and diversity

The programme was introduced to raise standards by supporting choice and diversity of provision. Specific priorities for use of this funding include:

  • the expansion of successful and popular maintained schools;
  • supporting new entrants to the maintained sector (both proposers of new Trust schools and voluntary aided and independent schools seeking to enter the sector);
  • Fresh Start schools; surplus place removal; federations of schools and groups of schools working together under a single Trust to facilitate joint working;
  • maintained boarding schools;
  • non-maintained special schools; and
  • the music and dance scheme.

The programme totals £327 million - indicatively, £63m in 2008/09, £114m in 2009-10, £150m in 2010/11 - with capital grants allocated by application either from a school or from a local authority. For VA schools, payments are made directly to the school. For all other cases, payments are made to the local authority on a quarterly basis.

14-19 and SEN/disabilities provision

The programme provides those local authority areas not currently in the BSF programme with additional funding to support the provision of facilities for the delivery of 14-19 diplomas and/or to improve facilities for pupils with special educational needs and disabilities. Local authorities are encouraged to utilise the resources for a small number of projects for greater impact, rather than spreading resources thinly. Resources should be deployed in accordance with local asset management plan.

The programme totals £608 million - £152m in 2009/10 and £456m in 2010/11. A flat rate of £2 million per local authority in 2009/10 and £6 million in 2010/11 is being allocated. This is intended to give each authority, regardless of size, flexibility to use the resources alongside others to meet local priorities.

Kitchens and dining rooms

The programme was created to help local authorities provide kitchens in schools where currently there are none, and where there is exceptional need that otherwise would unacceptably impact on other capital priorities. Local authorities must install kitchens which can provide hot food in their designated schools by the end of 2010/11, except where it meets barriers such as planning difficulties where timing extensions will be given. Local authorities are required to report their progress annually to DfE, including reporting on take-up rates of school meals for each school.

£150 million of targeted funding was earmarked between 2008 and 2011. Local authorities were expected to provide 50% matched funding and to use the fund to complement their plans for BSF or PCP projects.

Free swimming

The Free Swimming Capital Modernisation Development Programme is an innovative collaboration between DfE, the Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS), Sport England (SE), the Amateur Swimming Association (ASA) and the Local Government Association (LGA). It aims to bring flexibility to encourage creative approaches to enhancing swimming facilities and increasing participation in physical activity and sport by members of the local community, especially those aged 60 or over and those aged 16 or under. Local authorities may apply for funding for improvements to publicly-accessible swimming pools or those that are in maintained school ownership.

The total one-off capital grant available is £60m - half supplied by DCMS and half by DfE - with £10m in 2008/09, £25m in 2009/10 and £25m in 2010/11. The £30m capital from DfE is primarily aimed at pools on school sites. However, should sufficient high quality applications for schools not come forward, then worthy bids for local authority projects will be considered.

Musical instruments

This capital fund is for the repair and purchase of musical instruments so that every Key Stage 2 child has a year's instrumental tuition. This fund supports the DfE policy to give over 2 million pupils the opportunity to learn a musical instrument for a year for free by 2011. PfS provides revenue funding to the Federation of Music Services (FMS) who will distribute funds to individual local authorities.

The amount distributed is based on a formula that takes into account the pupil population at Key Stage 2 with a weighting for social deprivation. £10m is available for 2009/10. FMS will now submit claims to PfS, after receiving claims from local authorities.

Further initiatives

In addition, announcements have been made to fund policy initiatives in relation to:

  • carbon reduction
  • 16-19 capital fund
  • cookery in the curriculum
  • specialist sport
  • further funding for entry level places